IM Cairns Debut

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Having raced two 70.3 last year I made the decision to go full distance a week after Taupo half in December 16. I always had the intent to go long distance from the moment I started this sport, I have a long history of mental problems and being a lazy human being / husband / father and a shit person in general, all that changed three years ago when I was challenged by my wife to make a go of life and get happy! So I made the decision to do triathlon but long distance triathlon in particular and Cairns 17 turned out to be my debut long distance!

Swim - my goal was to go 1hr 15 and I was disappointed to exit the water with. 1hr 26 swim, I never got into a good rhythm, I don't know why, my swimming had gone well into the lead up and all was pointing to an approx 1hr 15 swim, looking at a lot of my other friends times, they all had slow swim times compared to their ability also.

T1 - All went well, took my time to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything for a total T1 time of 7 minutes

Bike - bike went to plan perfectly, I'm from NQ originally so am very familiar with the conditions at this time of the year and so in my race plan I set myself a goal of 30km/h for 6hr ride time, I'm comfy riding to this pace and know it wouldn't destroy my legs. The ride was uneventful for me so I enjoyed it, spent plenty of time in the aero position and made sure I took all my nutrition as planned. I did however have an issue where I was passing blood from 90km on the bike which would continue to the run, it was not causing me any pain or discomfort so I carried on as per my plan although slightly worried. Bike time ended up being 5hr 55 minutes which is a tick over 30km/h average very happy with my ride.

T2- hopped off the bike and managed to jog into T2 to get the legs going, again just took my time, new socks, hat on shoes on and a little pep talk to myself to say hold it together and run proud, in a few hours I'll be an ironman, thought about talking to a medic about my blood problem but decided as I felt fine with no other obvious issues I would start the marathon and see how I go. T2 time 5 minutes

Marathon - it took me to the end of the wharf to "find my legs" at which time I felt I was running to fast and would not sustain this pace so I backed it off to a pace I felt comfy at for the marathon, I refused to look at my watch and just went by feel, I settled in and when coming back through the start finish area I saw my Aunty who I had seen toward the end of the bike and mentioned my blood issue, she ran along side for a few hundred meters and advised me to up my water intake and have a couple pieces of banana (she has done several IM and someone I bounce off for info and support), so I settled in, not far down the road a good mate of mine popped up alongside after snapping a few pics of me, and had a nice chat for the next 5 minutes or so, the rest of the run was uneventful, I ran consistently and felt great, walked a few aid stations just to ensure I took on enough fluid and got it down before taking off again. I finished the run off with a 5:04 which is slow but I was consistent and I'm very happy with how I actually ran, my mate telling me my form didn't change from lap one until the very end. My blood in the urine issue cleared up at about the 36km point of the marathon.

I finished my first Ironman in 12:38 and I'm very very proud of that. I love this style of sport and can't wait to go around again.

Bike nutrition 800ml water with 1 shotz tablet per hour, 750ml of freedom fuel (homemade) over the six hours with 2 bar counter bars between hours 3-4 & 4-5

run nutrition 15 serves of freedom fuel minus the raspberries, plenty of water at the aid stations.

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Great race and write up, Kieran! Well done on your first IM, many more to come! Personally, I've only experienced the passing blood once myself, after a long run in training. I think it was due to dehydration. Hope it doesn't happen too often. Best of luck!